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The only "real" pistol I've bought that approached a Hi-Point in price was my Sigma SW9V.
Just a whiff more than $200 out the door.
It promptly broke.
Ultimately, it didn't cost me anything to get it fixed, because S&W went way beyond what I'd have expected for warranty care on a second hand gun.
None of this is new news. I detailed this on this very blog as it was happening.
I got this gun on a whim.
What if I'd bought it and needed it to actually work?
That's the risk of used guns.
It's also why you should shoot your new purchase a bit before betting your life on it!
Something about this particular gun comes to mind.
Is it a rare collectable now that the SW9V slide has been factory replaced with one from an SD9VE?
That exact thing happened to our SW40V, it might have been a design issue.
ReplyDeleteBut it was less than $200 in the early 2000's
The issue with inexpensive used guns is often that the models that have less than stellar reputations are usually the only ones that are "cheap". Models that are known to be highly reliable tend to hold their value well, provided they are taken care of.
ReplyDeleteAll that said, I think the Sigma line was kind of a weird case. S&W obviously is generally known for making extremely high quality, durable and long lasting products. Apparently the breakage issue on this particular model isn't uncommon. One of the complaints about the Sigmas was trigger feel, and I think a lot of the problems people had were often due to poorly executed attempts to address that maybe more than an actual design problem. It is good to know that S&W's customer service goes way beyond the norm. Obviously even if they aren't infallible they take their reputation seriously and make things right. That goes a long way.
Definitely you are right about the risk of used guns and properly testing out new purchases before depending on them. I'm not sure about Hi-Point's customer service from experience because I never have had a problem with the carbine I have -- and to be fair, have not shot it a huge amount. Enough to know it works and that's about it. However, from what I've read online they're reputation is better than what you'd expect for a low-end brand. In many cases it sound like they basically just replace everything but the frame and send it back (probably for serial number reasons).
In the case of the repaired Sigma... I don't know about affecting the value due to being now a "super rare" variant... But I actually think the new slide is more attractive than the original one. It certainly looks more contemporary. That may affect value some in a positive way by itself.